Maintaining a clean environment during handling of a contact lens is generally considered essential to good ophthalmic health. One aspect of cleanliness that is often not adequately considered is a clean exterior of a contact lens case. Even if a contact lens handler conscientiously engages in hand-washing and proper use of lens solutions, the efficacy of such practices is limited if pathogens, such as bacteria and fungi may be present on the exterior of a contact lens case used to store the contact lenses.
Clean hands often come into contact with pathogens on the exterior of a contact lens case during the process of removing a top to a case to access a lens stored within the case. A result of such contact is that the previously clean hands now become contaminated with pathogens. During handling of the lens and placement of the lens onto the eye, contaminated hands may pass the pathogens on to a lens that has recently been disinfected with solution inside the storage case. The result is an increased risk of a pathogen being introduced into an area of the eye of the contact lens wearer.
Hydrogel contact lenses are very popular today. These lenses are often more comfortable to wear than contact lenses made of hard materials. Many hydrogel contact lenses may be worn for more than one day. A build-up of microbial life and bacteria on the lenses during wear of the lens generally makes it desirable to periodically remove the lenses and disinfect them.
Disinfection of contact lenses traditionally entails placing the contact lens in a container or case and subjecting the contact lens to a chemical disinfectant. However, chemical disinfectants are not always as efficacious as may be desired. From time to time, a contact lens with a bacterium, mold, fungus or other type of adverse life form is reinserted into a user's eye with the result being a diseased eye. In addition, disinfecting solutions tend to be expensive and add to the total cost of using contact lenses for vision correction or cosmetic enhancement. New methods and approaches are therefore needed to disinfect contact lenses.